Hope Diamond

The Hope and Wittelsbach-Graff diamonds

The Hope Diamond and the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond were examined together at the Smithsonian. Both blue diamonds were mined in India in the 17th century and later belonged to European royalty. Their comparable color and orange-red phosphorescence have led to speculation that these two diamonds might have come from the same piece of rough. The results from testing indicated that the two diamonds did not originate from the same crystal, though they likely experienced similar geologic histories.